Stator core winding machine

ABSTRACT

A winding head assembly for a stator core winding machine having a turn table for supporting a number of stator cores and tooling rings for rotating the stator core relative to the turn table, the tooling rings including pivotably mounted fingers positioned between the slots in the stator core, the winding head assembly including a winding head and a spindle drive mechanism, the winding head being supported by the spindle drive mechanism for reciprocating and oscillating movement through the center of the stator core, the winding head includes a needle positioned to move through the slots of the stator core and a cam mounted for movement with and relative to the winding head a distance different than the distance of movement of the winding head, the cam being operatively connected to the needle to move the needle transversely of the winding head through an arcuate path in its movement through the slots of the stator core, the spindle drive mechanism including a dual coaxially mounted spindle, one of the spindles being connected to the winding head and the other connected to the cam, and an offset cam block for simultaneously moving said spindles through strokes of different lengths.

1 ited States Patent [191 Peters STATOR CORE WINDING MACHINE [76]Inventor: Robert W. Peters, 9036 N. 75th,

- Milwaukee, Wis. 53223 [22] Filed: Mar. 30, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:239,569

[52] US. Cl. 242/1.l R, 74/23 Primary Examiner-Billy S. Taylor Attorney,Agent, or Firm-James E. Nilles 57 ABSTRACT A winding head assembly for astator core winding machine having a turn table for supporting a numbercore relative to the turn table, the tooling rings including pivotablymounted fingers positioned between the slots in the stator core, thewinding head assembly in cluding a winding head and a spindle drivemechanism, the winding head being supported by the spindle drivemechanism for reciprocating and oscillating movement through the centerof the stator core, the winding head includes a needle positioned tomove through the slots of the stator core and a cam mounted for movementwith and relative to the winding head a distance different than thedistance of movement of the winding head, the cam being operativelyconnected to the needle to move the needle transversely of the windinghead through an arcuate path in its movement through the slots of thestator core, the spindle drive mechanism including a dual coaxiallymounted spindle, one of the spindles being connected to the winding headand the other connected to the cam, and an offset cam block forsimultaneously moving said spindles through strokes of differentlengths.

12 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEELM 9am sum 2 or a warm PATENTEU-l l91w 3,822,830

SHEU 3 [IF 4 FIG. 9

' lowing detailed description when readin with the accompanyingdrawings.

head. I p FIG-4 is an enlarged view in section showing the theintermeditate position inthe stator sembly. I

chines generallyinclude a complicated mechanical systern for displacingthe wire in order to achieve accuracy in the wire displacement. Such asystem is shown in my earlier issued Pat. No. 3,323,734,entitled.,Stator Core Winding Machine issued on June 6, 1967.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The stator core winding machine'of thisinvention is provided with an improved winding head assembly forachieving accurate wire displacement on each side of thestator core. Thewinding head isprovided with a movable needle whichis moved transverselyto the directioni'of motion .of the winding head. A cam is mountedin'the'winding head for-movement relative to the needle during thereciprocat'ory movement of the winding head to produce transversemovement of the needle. The-needle is moved through anarcuate path todisplace thev wire at the end of each stroke of the windinghead; noveldual spindle mechanism isused to :provide "simultaneous reciprocatoryand relative movement between the winding head and the cam.

. 2 indexed to move a v to the different stations. i D r I The statorcore 18 when moved to the winding station is clamped between a pair oftooling rings and 22 having fingers 24 and26 respectively. ,The' fingers24 and 26 are pivotallymounte'd on the corresponding tooling ring andoperate to hold the wire. for the coils as the wire is looped throughthe stator slots by the .winding head'assembly as disclosed in my Pat.No.

3,323,734, entitled Stator Core- Winding Machine, and issuedon June6,1967. The tooling rings 20 and 22 are adapted to be rotated by meansofa drive assem bly to rotate a stator core 18 clamped therebetween withrespect to theiturn table as the coils are completed in the slots'of thestator core. The presentinvention is concerned-primarily with thewinding head assembly 15 and therefore no further description isconsidered necessary for the operation of the loading, coil wedging,coil-forming and unloading stations. The Winding Head Assembl'yj 1' Inaccordance wIth the present invention, the'stator cores 18 are wound bymeans of the winding head assembly 15 which I is 1 reciprocated throughthe stator.

core 18 oscillated near or at the end of each recipr rocation stroke; vThe Jstator 'core l8 as seen partly in FIG. 3 is Jprovided with' anumber of equallysp'aced v slots 28' located-at l0 interv als. Coils areformed in Other advantages will become apparent from the folconnection AS, I FIG. 1' is a perspective view of the stator core winding machineshowing the winding head-in an intermediate positionin the stator core.a r "FIGL'Z is an elevational viewin section showing the spindledrivearrangement for the winding head. f FIG. 3 is'a top view of the statorcore and thewinding windinghead Core-9 v I 'FIG. 5 is a topview of theneedle.

FIG. 6 is a front view' of the spindle drive assembly.

FIG. 7 is a'front view "of the drive plate, FIG. 8 is a perspectiveviewof the offset drive block.

FIG.'9 is a front elevation view of the oscillating as- DESCRIPTION oFTHE INVENTION 4 A complete stator core 'winding'machine 10 of the typecontemplated herein generally includes a turn table 12 mounted forrotary motion on a frame 14 and a winding headas'sembly 15 mounted forreciprocating and'oscillating movement relative 'tothe frame 14. Theturn table 12 includes a number of supporting rings 16 vanisrn 55.

the stator core 18byl oopingwires-32through theslots 28-and around thefingers 24 and The wir es 3 2 are wrapped'or coiled through the slots28-by means of the winding head assembly 15 which includes a winding ona coaxial dual spindle drive mechf' head '34 mounted Winding Head 1'Asseen in FIGS. 3, 4m S in the drawing, the wind ing head 34 includes ablock or body 35 having. a number of needles 36 mountedfortransversemovement in 1 slots 38 and retained therein by ne'edle'retainer platesproaches its upper and lower positions.

for supporting stator cores 18 in a position to be wound by thewindinghead assembly 15. It should be understooel' 'that normallyautomatic stator core loading, coil 'wedging, coil forming'and unloadingstations are provided aroundthe turn table.'.l2 which is automatically40, Three needles 36 areshown in the winding head 34, however, one,twojor'three needles could be used de pending on the type of coi'eand/cube type of coil'to be wound in thestator core 18.The wires 32 arepulledon the block or body 35 mounted in brackets 37.

In the pesent'ernbodimentof the invention, the nee through guide tubesdles 36 are spaced 40apart to providefor simulta I neous winding ofthree coils 30 in the stator core 18.

Eachof the needles 36 is provided with a central wire or'feed opening 42and a drive pin 44. The end 45 of the needle projects outwardly andiswider at the outer end to conform to the shape of the slot 28. Referringto FIG. 4, it will be noted that the needle .36 is shown at the midpointof movement through one of the slots 28 of the stator core 18. In orderto loop the wire 32 through the slot 28 and around the fingers 24 and26, the needle 36 must be moved transversely with respect to the windinghead block 35 as the winding head ap- Mechanical means are provided formoving the needles 36 transversely with respect to the motion 'of thewinding head 34 in theform of cam plates 46 posi- 'tioned in grooves 48adjacent to the needles 36. Each of the cam plates 46 includes anarcuate groove 52 and is retained within the groove 48'by a cam retainerplate. '50. The needle' 36 is operatively'connected to the cam plate 46by means of the pin 44' which extends'into the arcuate groove 52in thecam plate 46. Movement of stator core in a step-bystep manner the camplate 46 relative to the block 35 during the reciprocating movement ofthe winding head 34 will move the end 45 of the needle 36 through anarcuate curve as more particularly described below. Although the camplate 46 has been shown as the means for moving the needle, othermechanical linkages can be used to provide transverse movement betweenthe needle and the winding head block 35.

The Spindle Mechanism The winding head 34 and needles 36 arereciprocated and oscillated by means of the spindle mechanism 55 whichincludes an outer hollow tubular spindle 54 and in inner tubular spindle56. The outer spindle 54 includes an external splined section 57 and agroove or recess 51 at the upper end. The outer spindle 54 is supportedin the frame 14 by means of a linear ball bearing 58. The inner spindle56 is coaxially mounted for linear movement within the outer tubularspindle 58 and includes a groove or recess 53 at the upper end. The body35 of the winding head 34 is clamped to the upper end of outer spindle54 by means of a plate 37 which is positioned in groove 51. The camplate 46 is pivotally clamped to the inner spindle 56 by means of aplate 47 positioned in groove 53.

The Drive Assembly Means are provided for simultaneously reciprocatingthe inner spindle 56 and outer spindle 54 for moving the inner spindle56 relative to the outer spindle 54 to provide for transverse movementof the needle 36. This is accomplished by means of the drive assembly 62(FIGS. 2, 6, 7 and 8) which includes a motor 64 having a drive shaft 67and a drive plate 66 having a radially extending slot 69 mounted on thedrive shaft 67. The outer spindle 54 is connected to the drive plate 66by means of a split or open crank arm 68 and the inner spindle 56 isconnected to the drive plate by means of a crank arm 70.

In this regard, it should be noted that the crank arm 68 is pivotallyconnected to the outer spindle 54 by a cross head assembly 72 and has anopen center 74 and a bore or opening 76 at its lower end. The crank arm70 has a bore or opening 79 at its lower end and is connected to theinner spindle 56 by means of a connecting pin 78 pivotally mounted onbearings 93 in opening 91 at the upper end of crank arm 70. It should benoted that connecting pin 78 is located within the opening 74 of crankarm 68.

The crank arms 68 and 70 are connected to the drive plate 66 by means ofan offset drive block or member 80 mounted on a crank pin 82. The offsetblock 80 includes an opening or bore 84, a first drive section 86 and asecond drive section 88. The first drive section 86 is positioned inopening 76 in crank arm 68 and is mounted for rotary motion on rollerbearings 87. The second drive section 88 is positioned in opening 79 incrank arm 70 and is mounted on roller bearings 90. The offset block 80is secured to the drive plate 66 by inserting the crank pin 82 throughthe opening 84 and positioning a retainer member 92 on the end of thepin 82. A nut 94 is mounted on the threaded end of the pin 82.

It should be apparent that on rotation of the drive plate 66 both of thespindles 54 and 56 will reciprocate in the frame 14. Relative movementbetween the spindles 54 and 56 is provided by means of the offsetrelation between the drive sections 86 and 88. It should be noted thatthe first drive section 86 is eccentrically offset radially outwardlyfrom the drive pin 82 and the second drive section 88 is offset radiallyinwardly from the drive pin 82. The distance of linear movement of theouter spindle 54 will therefore be equal to twice the radial distance ofthe center axis of the first drive section 86 from the axis of the driveshaft 67. The distance of linear movement of the inner spindle 56 willbe equal to twice the radial distance of the axis of the second section88 from the axis of the drive shaft 67. The distance between the axis ofthe two sections 86 and 88 is fixed so that the relative movement of thecam plate 46 and winding head block 35 is always the same regardless ofthe length of the stroke of the spindle assembly 55. In the presentembodiment a three-quarter inch difference is provided between the firstand second sections 86 and 88 which provides an inch and one-halfdifference in the movement between the cam plate 46 and needle 36.

Means are provided for varying the length of the stroke of the windinghead assembly 15. This is accomplished by moving the crank pin 82radially in the slot 69 in the drive plate 66. In this regard, it shouldbe noted that the crank pin 82 includes a T-head 97 which is positionedin the slot 69. On assembly the T-head 97 is positioned in the slot 69and the nut 94 tightened to seat the T-head 97 tightly against the driveplate 66. To adjust the stroke the nut 94 is loosened and the crank pin82 moved radially inward or outward and the nut 94 retightened. Itshould be noted that the movement of the inner spindle 56 with respectto the outer spindle will remain constant regardless of the length ofthe stroke of the winding head assembly 15.

Rotary motion is provided between the spindle 54 and the crank arm 68 bythe cross head assembly 72. The cross head assembly 72 includes a set ofbrackets 61 having coaxial openings 63 and a plate 65 having a centralopening 77 and support pins 75. .The plate 65 is mounted on the lowerend of the outer spindle 54 between a pair of thrust bearings 71. One ofsaid thrust bearings 71 abutting against the lower end of the splinedsection 57 and the other thrust bearing 71 being retained on the spindle54 by a nut 73. The spindle 54 is free to rotate on the thrust bearings71 within the opening 77 of the plate 65. The pins are pivotally mountedin bearings 59 in the openings 63.

The connecting pin 78 includes a head 81 having an opening 83 transverseto the axis of pin 78 and a threaded section at the end of the pin 78.The head 81 is connected to the end of the spindle 56 by a bolt 89 whichextends through the opening 83. The pin 78 is secured to the crank arm70 by means of a washer and nut 96.

Oscillating Drive Assembly The spindle assembly 55 is rotated at or nearthe end of each reciprocating motion or stroke to move the winding headto the next slot 28 in the stator core by means of an oscillating driveassembly 100 (FIGS. 2 and 9). This drive assembly 100 includes a gear102 mounted on the splined section 57 of the outer spindle 54 and a rack104 positioned to engage the gear 102 and driven by a cam 106. The gear102 is supported for rotation on a pair of thrust bearings 108 which aremounted on fixed support members 110. The gear 102 is provided with aninternal gear 103 which is in mesh with spline 57 to allow for linearmotion of the spindle 54.

The gear 102 is rotated by means of the rack 104 which is secured to aplate 112. Referring to FIG. 9, the plate 112 is shown mounted forlinear movement on tracks 114 provided in fixed parallel support members116. A pair of cam rollers 1 18 are mounted on the back of the plate 112in a position to engage the outer edge of cam 106. The cam 106 issecured to a shaft 120 journaled in a housing 122 on the frame 14. Theshaft 120 is driven off the motor 64 by means of a drive belt 124mounted on a drive pulley 126 on the motor and a driven pulley 128 onshaft 120.

In operation cam 106 is rotated at the same speed as the drive assembly55 due to the common connection with motor 64. The cam 106 and camrollers 118 are designed to provide positive movement of the rack 104whenever the winding head approaches the end of its reciprocatingmotion. This type of an oscillating drive assembly is well known and canbe adjusted to provide a different amount of angular movement asrequired for a particular coil.

OPERATION In the stator core winding machine of the type contemplatedherein, the stator core 18 is placed in the support ring 16 in the turntable 12. The turn table is rotated to position the stator core at thecoil winding station and the tooling rings 20 and 22 are closed on thestator core with the fingers 24 and 26 vertically aligned between theslots 28 in the stator core. The wire 32 which is used to form the coilsis threaded through the guide tubes 33 and the opening 42 in the needle36. The winding head assembly is then ready to commence the coil windingoperation.

When the motor 64 is energized to start the coil winding operation, thewinding head assembly will reciprocate vertically and will oscillatethrough a preset angle at each end of the reciprocal strokes. The needle36 moves with the winding head assembly vertically through the slots 28in the stator core. The needle 36 is moved transversely through anacruate path by means of the cam plates 46 to position the wire 32 atthe end of each reciprocal stroke radially outwardly from the slots 28over the singers 24 and 26. When the winding head assembly 15 isoscillated to position the needle 36 above or below the next slot in thestator core 18, the wire 32 will be wound over or under the fingers "24and 26 respectively. When the direction of reciprocal movement isreversed, the needle 36 will again be moved in an arcuate path throughthe slot 28 to a position radially outwardly of the other fingers 24 and26.

The transverse motion of the needle 36 is achieved by moving the camplate 46 relative to the winding head block during each stroke of thewinding head assembly. The relative motion between the cam plate 46 andblock 35 is provided by the dual spindle mechanism 55 and the driveassembly 62. In this regard, the outer spindle 54 is rotatably connectedto the crank arm 68 which is driven by the drive plate 66. The innerspindle 56 is connected to the crank arm 70 which is driven by the driveplate 66. The connection of the crank arms 68 and 70 to the drive plateis provided by the offset block 80 which provides a fixed differencebetween the stroke of the outer and inner spindles 54 and 56.

The stroke of the winding head assembly 15 is adjusted to accommodatevarious types stator cores by adjusting the distance of the crank pin 82from the center or axis of the drive plate 66. This is accomplished byloosening nut 94 and sliding the crank pin 82 radially inwardly oroutwardly in slot 96 in the drive plate 66. The amount of relativemovement between the inner spindle 54 and outer spindle 56 will remainfixed regardless of the length of the stroke of the winding headassembly.

I claim:

1. In a stator core winding machine,

a winding head assembly comprising a winding head having a needlemounted for transverse movement relative to the direction of motion ofthe winding head,

a cam plate defining an arcuate groove mounted in the winding head formovement relative thereto,

means operatively connecting said needle to said cam plate to follow thepath of motion defined by said groove,

means for linearly moving said winding head in oppositely directedstrokes, said linearly moving means including means for moving said camplate relative to said winding head to produce transverse movement ofsaid needle through an arcuate path defined by said groove during eachstroke of linear movement of said winding head,

and means for rotating said winding head near the end of each stroke oflinear movement of said winding head.

2. The winding head assembly according to claim 1 wherein said means formoving said cam plate includes a hollow tubular spindle connected tosaid winding head and a tubular spindle coaxially mounted in said hollowtubular spindle and connected to said cam plate and means forsimultaneously reciprocating said spindles through different lengthstrokes.

3. In a stator core winding machine,

a winding head assembly including,

a main body,

means for reciprocating said main body directed strokes,

means for rotating said main body at the end of each stroke ofreciprocation of said main body,

a needle mounted in said body for movement transverse to the directionof movement-of said main body, and

a cam plate defining an arcuate groove mounted in said main body andbeing operatively connected to said needle,

said reciprocating means including means for moving said cam platerelative to said main body during each stroke of reciprocation of saidmain body whereby said needle is moved through a predetermined arcuatepath during each stroke of reciprocation of said main body.

4. The winding head assembly according to claim 3 wherein said means formoving said cam plate includes a tubular spindle and a drive assemblyfor moving said tubular spindle through a different stroke than saidmain body.

5. The winding head assembly according to claim 3 wherein saidreciprocating means includes a hollow tubular spindle and said means formoving said cam plate includes a tubular spindle coaxially mountedwithin said hollow tubular spindle and means for moving said spindlesthrough strokes of different length.

in oppositely 6. The winding head assembly according to claim 4 whereinsaid drive assembly comprises a drive plate, a crank pin adjustablymounted in said drive plate, means for adjusting the position of saidcrank pin in said cam plate and an offset cam block mounted on saidcrank pin and being operatively connected to said spindles.

7. The winding head assembly according to claim 6 wherein said offsetblock includes a first cam section having an axis located radiallyoutwardly from said drive pin and a second cam section having an axislocated radially inwardly of said drive pin.

8. A winding head assembly for a stator core winding machine, saidassembly including:

a winding head having a number of radial slots, a needle in each of saidslots,

cam means defining an arcuate groove in said winding head for movingsaid needles transversely with respect to the direction of movement ofthe winding head,

means for reciprocating said winding head in oppositely directedstrokes, said reciprocating means including means for moving said cammeans through different length strokes whereby each of said needles ismoved transversely through an arcuate path during each stroke of thereciprocal movement of said winding head,

and means for rotating said winding head at the end of each stroke ofreciprocal movement.

9. The assembly according to claim 8 wherein said reciprocating meansincludes a hollow tubular spindle connected to said winding head and atubular spindle connected to said moving means, said tubular spindlebeing coaxially mounted in said hollow tubular spindle.

10. The winding head assembly according to claim 9 wherein saidreciprocating means further includes a drive assembly connected to saidhollow spindle and said tubular spindle to provide strokes of differentlength.

11. The winding head assembly according to claim 10 wherein said driveassembly includes an offset cam block operatively connected to saidspindles to provide a fixed difference in each stroke of said spindles.

12. The assembly according to claim 8 wherein said cam means includes anarcuate groove and each of said needles includes means for operativelyengaging said groove whereby said needles are moved through arcuatepaths of motion duringeach reciprocal movement of said winding head.

1. In a stator core winding machine, a winding head assembly comprisinga winding head having a needle mounted for transverse movement relativeto the direction of motion of the winding head, a cam plate defining anarcuate groove mounted in the winding head for movement relativethereto, means operatively connecting said needle to said cam plate tofollow the path of motion defined by said groove, means for linearlymoving said winding head in oppositely directed strokes, said linearlymoving means including means for moving said cam plate relative to saidwinding head to produce transverse movement of said needle through anarcuate path defined by said groove during each stroke of linearmovement of said winding head, and means for rotating said winding headnear the end of each stroke of linear movement of said winding head. 2.The winding head assembly according to claim 1 wherein said means formoving said cam plate includes a hollow tubular spindle connected tosaid winding head and a tubular spindle coaxially mounted in said hollowtubular spindle and connected to said cam plate and means forsimultaneously reciprocating said spindles through different lengthstrokes.
 3. In a stator core winding machine, a winding head assemblyincluding, a main body, means for reciprocating said main body iNoppositely directed strokes, means for rotating said main body at theend of each stroke of reciprocation of said main body, a needle mountedin said body for movement transverse to the direction of movement ofsaid main body, and a cam plate defining an arcuate groove mounted insaid main body and being operatively connected to said needle, saidreciprocating means including means for moving said cam plate relativeto said main body during each stroke of reciprocation of said main bodywhereby said needle is moved through a predetermined arcuate path duringeach stroke of reciprocation of said main body.
 4. The winding headassembly according to claim 3 wherein said means for moving said camplate includes a tubular spindle and a drive assembly for moving saidtubular spindle through a different stroke than said main body.
 5. Thewinding head assembly according to claim 3 wherein said reciprocatingmeans includes a hollow tubular spindle and said means for moving saidcam plate includes a tubular spindle coaxially mounted within saidhollow tubular spindle and means for moving said spindles throughstrokes of different length.
 6. The winding head assembly according toclaim 4 wherein said drive assembly comprises a drive plate, a crank pinadjustably mounted in said drive plate, means for adjusting the positionof said crank pin in said cam plate and an offset cam block mounted onsaid crank pin and being operatively connected to said spindles.
 7. Thewinding head assembly according to claim 6 wherein said offset blockincludes a first cam section having an axis located radially outwardlyfrom said drive pin and a second cam section having an axis locatedradially inwardly of said drive pin.
 8. A winding head assembly for astator core winding machine, said assembly including: a winding headhaving a number of radial slots, a needle in each of said slots, cammeans defining an arcuate groove in said winding head for moving saidneedles transversely with respect to the direction of movement of thewinding head, means for reciprocating said winding head in oppositelydirected strokes, said reciprocating means including means for movingsaid cam means through different length strokes whereby each of saidneedles is moved transversely through an arcuate path during each strokeof the reciprocal movement of said winding head, and means for rotatingsaid winding head at the end of each stroke of reciprocal movement. 9.The assembly according to claim 8 wherein said reciprocating meansincludes a hollow tubular spindle connected to said winding head and atubular spindle connected to said moving means, said tubular spindlebeing coaxially mounted in said hollow tubular spindle.
 10. The windinghead assembly according to claim 9 wherein said reciprocating meansfurther includes a drive assembly connected to said hollow spindle andsaid tubular spindle to provide strokes of different length.
 11. Thewinding head assembly according to claim 10 wherein said drive assemblyincludes an offset cam block operatively connected to said spindles toprovide a fixed difference in each stroke of said spindles.
 12. Theassembly according to claim 8 wherein said cam means includes an arcuategroove and each of said needles includes means for operatively engagingsaid groove whereby said needles are moved through arcuate paths ofmotion during each reciprocal movement of said winding head.